


He’s Very Handsome. Now Stop It

by christinchen



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: trope_bingo, M/M, Trope Bingo Round 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 17:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2859215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christinchen/pseuds/christinchen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The bane of every single person’s existence: Christmas dinner invitations with the dreaded ‘plus one’. Even worse when they’re your meddlesome family who "only want to see you happy"</p>
            </blockquote>





	He’s Very Handsome. Now Stop It

**Author's Note:**

> written for my [trope-bingo](http://trope-bingo.dreamwidth.org/) prompt: au: mundane
> 
> another one of those i might continue this one day ones...

"Fuck!" Ianto's head hit the wooden surface of his office desk with a loud thud.

"Everything okay, sir?" came an amused voice from the doorway behind him.

"Perfect," Ianto replied, not lifting his head.

"You know, that would have been a lot more convincing if you weren't sitting face down at your desk."

Ianto heard footsteps approach and then the familiar sound of a mug being placed in front of him.  
"Thank you," he muttered into the tabletop.

"You're welcome. And I'll be off for the evening if you don't need me for anything else."

“Nope. See you tomorrow, Jack,” Ianto lifted his head slightly to watch his assistant leave his office.

When the door was closed he turned his head and continued glaring at the envelope sitting _oh so_ innocently on his desk. It was white, his name printed to it in a slightly flourished fashion, matching the invitation tucked inside perfectly.

It wasn't that he didn't like his sister or that he had a problem with spending the Christmas holidays with her. Johnny, her husband, was a nice enough bloke and the kid, David, who he hadn't seen since last year was lovely too. There was another child on the way, if he wasn't mistaken. Not that she would tell him, she couldn't have been more than a few weeks along last time he had met her for a cup of tea.

No, it wasn't the Christmas dinner that Ianto was dreading. It was the 'plus one' on the invitation and the knowledge that if he turned up alone his entire family would be trying to set him up with one of the single girls, most likely one of her friends if his sister had any say.

With a sigh Ianto tucked the card back into the envelope and set it aside, going back to the case he was working on.

It was well past 1 a.m. when he finally set his work aside and left for his flat. His quite empty flat.

\---

“And to remind you, your sister called twice this week about Christmas dinner and it’s only Monday,” Jack called over his shoulder as he left Ianto’s office.

“I apologize,” Ianto sighed. He knew he ought to just man up and take her call, tell her that yes, he would be there for dinner and no, he didn’t have a girlfriend to bring home this year either. 

“I’ll let her know,” Jack laughed, knowing fully well how Ianto had meant the comment.

“Also,” Jack added, leaning back into Ianto’s office, “she keeps pestering me about information about your girlfriend?”

Ianto knew Jack had deliberately phrased it as a question. He was almost as meddlesome as his sister when it came to his love life though not quite as annoying in Ianto’s eyes. Jack liked to suggest more than outright ask and push. 

“What did you tell her?” Ianto asked instead. 

“That you have a strict ‘No talking about Ianto’s sex or love life’ policy implemented in this department,” Jack smiled. 

Ianto knew there were few things more difficult than getting information out of his assistant that we wasn’t ready to share. It certainly was one of the reasons he had hired Jack in the first place. And the most important one that he considered Jack his friend. 

“Plus she was quite helpful getting me to pick the perfect Christmas gift for Gwen,” Jack added. 

Jack and Gwen was a thing that Ianto could never decipher. Gwen was the head of the English department and seemed to have taken quite an interest in Jack but Ianto had never been able to figure out if Jack returned it. He did seem to flirt with her quite a bit and from what Ianto could tell it never went past that. Not that it was any of his business who Jack flirted with or didn’t for that matter. 

“Hey, if you want me to tell her you’re keeping me company over the holidays all you have to do is say so,” Jack offered. 

While Ianto thought spending Christmas with Jack sounded certainly better than having his family try and force some girl onto him in hopes of him finally getting married, he definitely didn’t want to intrude on his assistant's time with his… 

“Company?” he asked confused. 

“It’s when more than one person are spending time in one room. You should try it sometime.”

“Very funny,” he replied, rolling his eyes at Jack, "Thank you for offering but I don't think it a good idea. My sister might get the wrong idea.”

Ianto didn’t even want to imagine his family’s reaction to him potentially dating a man. He couldn't imagine it ending well. His mum would be confused, his dad silent and his sister, his sister would mock. And if after Christmas he admitted to things between him and Jack having ended, next year he would have to deal with having both men and women pushed his way. 

"Also I wouldn't want to intrude on your Christmas celebrations," Ianto continued, “I’m sure there are better ways to spend the holidays than with your boss.”

“Oh yeah,” Jack laughed. And if Ianto felt a hint of disappointment at that it was no one’s business really but his own. 

“There is a very important Lord of the Rings marathon coming my way,” Jack told him with a grin and turned again to leave his office. 

“Wait!” Ianto called after him. “You’re not seriously spending Christmas on your own, are you?”

"Well, my family has given up on me making the journey up north years ago, I'm not dating anyone, so me and a bottle of red it is," Jack called over his shoulder. 

"But it Christmas! You can't spend Christmas alone," Ianto found himself protesting. 

And that’s how he ended up standing on the front step to his sister’s house with a plus one for the family Christmas celebrations after all, and a very confused family who didn’t quite seem to know if they should offer separate beds to the two of them or not. 

Ianto resisted the urge to bang his head again the wall. Barely.


End file.
